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Darnton - Great Cat Massacre - Chapter 2 and Conclusion
Reading notes for chapter 2 and conclusion of Darnton's 'The Great Cat Massacre'
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Evidence and Methods: Culture and Mentality as a Method of Historical ResearchThe Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History by Robert Danton - Chapter 2 (VLE)
References
Footnotes - Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History, (New
York: Basic Books, 1984), Chap. 2
Bibliography - Darnton, Robert. The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History.
New York: Basic Books, 1984. Chap. 2.
Notes and Quotes
- The story of the cat massacre is essentially one of apprentices culling cats which were making a lot of
noise on the roof of a printing shop
- ‘Where is the humour in a group of grown men bleating like goats and banging with their tools while a
adolescent reenacts the ritual slaughter of a defenceless animal? Our own inability to get the joke is an
indication of the distance that separates us from the workers of preindustrial Europe.’ - 77-8
- This question allows us to build connections and separations between modern human society and
that of any period of time in history. Although it could be argued that modern society as a whole
would not find this funny, this is only one anecdote and can therefore be misleading without other
examples of humour which is still deemed to be both funny and interesting in the modern day.
- Furthermore, it is unclear whether the author of the article has performed any sort of study
surrounding the views of modern society to this practice, or whether he has imposed his own view as
the assumed view of society. It is possible that depending on the staging of the story and the
demographics of the audience, some people in modern society may still find humour in the story.
- ‘It cannot be regarded as a mirror-image of what actually happened. It should be read as Contat’s
version of a happening, as his attempt to tell a story. Like all story telling, it sets the action in a frame of
reference; it assumes a certain repertory of associations and responses on the part of its audience’ - 78
- This demonstrates the historical challenge posed when reading accounts by an eyewitness,
particularly if there is an intent to create humour or to exaggerate for dramatic effect or performance
value. This draws a further challenge for a historian as to what should be taken as fact or fiction, and
how accurate the inferred opinions of the writer are, impacting how we interpret the difference
between the culture of the 18th century and the modern day
- Although the content of the story itself and the experience of the author could be disputed as to its
factual accuracy, the ideas of inter-class relations and the living conditions of working class people can
be interpreted through his portrayal of the story.
- ‘Although the apprentices seem most abused, the text makes it clear that the killing of the cats
expressed a hatred for the bourgeois that had spread among al the workers: “the masters love cats;
consequently [the workers] hate them”’ - 79
- The idea of dislike by principle demonstrates the class tensions within this society
, - ‘During the second half of the seventeenth century, the large printing houses, backed by the
government, eliminated most of the smaller shops, and an oligarchy of masters seized control of the
industry. At the same time the situation of the journeymen deteriorated…This trend made it virtually
impossible for journeymen to rise into the ranks of the masters’ - 79
- This illustrates the importance of context in analysing a historical source, as without the context the
story of the cat massacre could be viewed as simply an 18th century comedic representation of the
relations between one apprentice and his master, which to modern audiences falls flat and can be
seen as disturbing. With the context however, the story can be seen as an important almost
allegorical commentary on the nature of class relations and employment opportunities in society
- The influx of cheaper labour as an alternative to skilled apprentice labour resulted in further discontent
amongst the artisan class, prompting the writing of this story
- This comedic account could therefore be seen as far from a simple commentary, but actually a skilled
social commentary, focusing on something seemingly menial, the noise of cats, and using it to
demonstrate the instability and tension in the relations between classes
- ‘He began his description of Jerome’s apprenticeship by invoking a golden age when printing was first
invented and printers lived as free and equal members of a “republic,” governed by its own laws and
traditions in a spirit of fraternal “union and friendship.”’ - 82
- It is clear from the way that he begins the story that Contat was writing this with the aim of
immortalising in text the disintegration of employment relations, and the rise of power structures and
class inequities which resulted in the resentment felt by apprentices towards their masters, again
showing this text to be less about the event itself, and more about commenting on a discontented
people in a dysfunctional society
- ‘Cats also figured in the cycle of Saint John the Baptist…Crowds made bonfires jumped over them,
danced around them, and threw into the objects with magical power, hoping to avid disaster and obtain
good fortune during the rest of the year’ - 83
- The symbolism here of cats being mistreated for the purpose of human luck again feeds into the idea
that the story could be an allegory where the cats represent higher society, and killing them brings
about better fortune for the apprentices
- ‘The torture of animals, particularly cats, was a popular amusement throughout early modern Europe’ -
90
- Idea of writing something which can be easily digested as humorous by contemporaries
- ‘First and foremost, cats suggested witchcraft. To cross one at night in virtually any corner of France was
to risk running into the devil or one of his agents or a witch abroad on an evil errand’ - 92
- Again this links in to the cats symbolising the evil in society, the masters, and the symbolic killing of
the cats representing the desire of the apprentices to reform society in such a way that their position
again has value and elicits social mobility
- ‘Folktales like “puss ’n boots” emphasised the identification of master and cat, and so fit superstitions
such as the practice of tying a black ribbon around the neck of a cat whose mistress had died’ - 94
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